Galaxy
Superman Galaxy
Barred spiral galaxy · C44 · NGC 7479
Barred spiral galaxy in Pegasus
Photo: Göran Nilsson & The Liverpool Telescope · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
NGC 7479 is a barred spiral galaxy about 105 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. William Herschel discovered it in 1784. NGC 7479 is also recognized as a Seyfert galaxy and a LINER undergoing starburst activity not only on the nucleus and the outer arms, but also across the bar of the galaxy, where most of the stars were formed in the last 100 million years. Polarization studies of this galaxy indicate that it recently underwent a minor merger and that it is unique in the radio continuum, with arms opening in a direction opposite to the optical arms. This feature, along with the asymmetrical arms of the galaxy and the intense star formation activity are attributed to a merger with a smaller galaxy. This galaxy is similar in both size and morphology to the barred spiral NGC 1300.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~106 million light-years
Apparent mag.
+11
Apparent size
3.6′ × 2.7′
Best seen with
Telescope
Catalogue
C44 · NGC 7479
Did you know
- Listed as Caldwell 44 in the Caldwell catalogue, also known as NGC 7479.
- Found in the constellation Pegasus.
- Needs a telescope to see clearly.
